Message in a Bottle
by insert cliche
Summary: They never confessed face-to-face. A love story told in letters, bottles, and whispers on the sea.


Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away in any way, shape, or form. All characters and settings used belong to Hayao Miyazaki.

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**Message in a Bottle**

by insert cliche

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"Chihiro!"

Chihiro's head snapped up from its resting spot on her folded arms, and the teen glared at her best friend Akane through half-open eyes. "Whaaat? I'm tired."

Akane laughed. "It's a perfect day right now, and all you want to do is sleep? What's wrong with you?"

_I was up all night watching the moon_, Chihiro thought. _You wouldn't understand._ But she said nothing, and let her friend chatter on.

"So, I was thinking that we should go to the beach or something. You know how there's that empty cove near the rocks? I wanna go there again! Maybe we can collect some shells and sea stars for our moms. How's that?" Akane was very enthusiastic, and Chihiro knew that trying to argue with her would be a lost cause.

"Fine, fine. Just let me get my sandals."

* * *

The girls ran and tumbled through the soft white sand on the way to their "secret cove." It was just a large gap between the boulders that marked the edge of the beach, but it was hauntingly beautiful and tranquil, and they loved it. As they stepped into the inner pool, Akane asked companion a question.

"Hey, Chihiro. Why have you been spacing out so much lately?"

_Shoot. Should have known that she'd ask eventually_, Chihiro mused. _Now how do I answer?_

"I dunno. I don't really notice it."

Akane looked skeptical. "Okay...whatever you say."

The two girls continued their walk in silence, and Chihiro let her thoughts drift to the spirit world and the dragon boy she'd met so long ago. Recently, he had started plaguing her mind every night, and she knew that she was developing feelings for a boy she had only ever met once. She was falling in love with a dream, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Suddenly, something shiny caught her eye, and she pulled on Akane's arm.

"What's that?"

"I dunno. Let's go check it out."

Once Chihiro reached the strange object, she pulled on it a little. It was green and transparent, and most of it seemed to be buried under the sand. A few minutes of digging rectified this problem.

"Wow, look at this!"

Akane looked at her friend blankly. "It's a bottle."

Chihiro ignored her. "It's so _old_. I wonder why it's here."

Her friend looked into the large bottle, and gasped. "Look! There's a letter in it!"

"Is that important?"

"Yes, dummy! What if there's a treasure map in there?"

The brown-haired girl couldn't help but laugh. "Jeez, Akane. That's so cliche."

"Who cares? Let's open it!"

"Alright, alright. Would you like to do the honors?"

"I would, thank you." The girls laughed.

* * *

There was a letter in the bottle.

_My dearest husband,_

_If you find this letter, know that I am writing this as I lie sick and dying. Do not be sad, dear: I have lived a long, happy life, and you were almost always by my side. I know you did not leave to cheat on me; I know that our love is deeper than the sea, and I believe it will never end, that we have been tied together with the red string of fate. _

_I wish you could see your children. Your son has become quite the ladykiller (much like you were, before you started to court me), but he has a good heart. He doesn't know this yet, but he is falling in love. The girl is kind and gentle, and I know you would approve. I hope I'll be able to give them your blessing. Your daughter, too, has grown up beautifully. Sometimes I wish you were here, to help me get rid of all the boys begging at our doorstep, but she'll be okay. I know she, too, will fall in love, and that she'll lead as long and prosperous a life as I have. Let's hope for some grandchildren now, shall we? (If you ever get to see them, don't be miffed if they call you a spider. You really do look like one, darling. Even I said that.)_

_Kamaji (I know you like this nickname, even if you don't show it), I love you. I always, have, always will, and my soul won't rest until I find you. So just wait for me, darling. I'll come, and I'll fall in love with you all over again when we meet._

_Your loving wife,_

_Anzu_

* * *

"That...that was so romantic!" Akane cried, a pile of tissues at her side. The girls had taken the bottle back home and opened it there, and they had read the letter while sitting on the porch eating konpeitou, the little star-shaped candies that Chihiro loved.

Chihiro didn't say a word.

What if that had been a letter to the Kamaji she had met in the bathhouse? What if...what if she could send letters, too, and hope that they reached the spirit world? Would she be able to write to Kohaku?

_Would she be able to tell him that she loved him?_

* * *

Two weeks later, Chihiro dropped a green glass bottle into the waves.

* * *

"And they're so disrespectful! They're always dropping trash everywhere, and never clean it up! They're all so...so _piggish_!" Haku chuckled at the young lake spirit's antics.

"I'm sure they aren't _all_ that bad, Mizu. You know, some of them can be nice."

"You're one to talk, Uncle Haku! You fell in love with one!"

"So I did. Your point being?"

"You _like_ humans!"

Haku sighed. "Mizu, just because I fell in love with one doesn't mean I like all of them. But still, they restored my river, and I'm grateful for that."

The little girl huffed and crossed her arms. "Whatever." She brightened up suddenly. "I have something for you!" The spirit literally flowed from the room. A few minutes later, and she was back.

"Look!" A green glass bottle was shoved into Haku's face, and the dragon twitched slightly. "There's something in it for you!"

"And you would know this...how?"

The girl laughed. "One of my friends - she's the seaweed spirit I told you about - found this. We opened it together, and found a letter for _you_! Isn't that really lucky?"

Haku's curiosity was piqued. "Indeed it is. Would you be willing to give it to me?"

"Maybeee...or maybe not!"

* * *

After bribery, begging, and quite a few promises to take his water relation to his river, Haku finally got the bottle. He opened it while sitting on the headwaters of his river. It was nighttime, and everything was peaceful.

_To Kohaku, the river spirit who I met once and remembered forever,_

_**I love you. **_

_Even if you never see this, or don't even remember me, just know that I fell in love with you._

_-Chihiro, the dreamer_

"Well," the dragon murmured. "It seems that I must pen an answer."

* * *

Years passed, and Chihiro forgot about the message she had given to the sea.

* * *

Chihiro's shoes sloshed through the wet sand near the cliffs, and she nearly tripped on one of the slippery black rocks. She regained her balance, however, and continued on. There was a view that she wanted to photograph, and she would to anything to get there in time.

Akane had laughed at her hard-headedness, and told her friend to have fun before they were forced to return to college.

But something green caught her eye, and she stopped walking for a moment to inspect it closer.

There was a bottle caught between the rocks.

And there was a letter in that bottle.

_To Chihiro, the little girl who I met before she knew me,_

_You told me, and I quote, "I love you." _

_Here is my reply: _

_**And I you**__. _

_-Kohaku, the dragon, and the man in love_

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Please review. Any and all reviews are highly appreciated.


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